The Stem Array · Gaṇḍavyūha

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, further meditating on, believing in,¹⁵⁵⁵ and increasing the bodhisattva liberation called the entry into beautiful sounds and profound manifestations, went to where the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā was. He saw the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā seated upon a lion throne consisting of the saplings of precious trees, inside a kūṭāgāra made from the branches of all perfumed precious trees and encircled by an entourage of ten thousand night goddesses.

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā and then stood before her. With his hands placed together in homage, he said, “Goddess, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment, and so I pray that you explain how bodhisattvas should practice bodhisattva conduct, how they should train in it, and how, having practiced and trained in it, they proceed toward omniscience!”

The night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, through my power, when the sun sets in the Sahā world realm, the lotus blossoms close,¹⁵⁵⁶ the men and women who are dedicated to delighting in pleasures in parks have the wish to return to their homes, the beings who travel along roads and narrow paths think of finding somewhere to stay for the night, and they turn their attention to all the safe dwellings for beings. Those who dwell in forests, in mountain clefts, and in caves enter their forests, clefts, and caves. Those beings who dwell in trees think of returning to their homes in the trees. Those beings who dwell in holes return to their holes. Those beings who dwell in villages, towns, districts, and lands return to their villages, towns, districts, and lands. Those beings who dwell in water enter the water. Those beings who have gone to lands in other directions begin to think of the directions of their own lands in order to remain in a feeling of happiness during the night.

“Moreover, noble one, to the young men and women in the prime of life who are intoxicated by youthfulness, intoxicated by the delights of singing, dancing, and music, who are dedicated to delighting in sensory pleasures, to them I praise dedication to creating roots of merit as a remedy for the fear of birth, old age, death, and the great darkness of ignorance. I bring beings who are miserly to the practice of generosity. I bring beings who have bad conduct to the practice of correct conduct. I praise love to beings who have malicious minds. I establish beings with disturbed minds in the practice of patience. I establish beings who are lazy in the practice of undertaking bodhisattva diligence. I establish beings who have intoxicated minds in the practice of dhyāna. I bring beings with poor wisdom to the practice of the perfection of wisdom. I establish beings who aspire to the lower yānas in the practice of the Mahāyāna. I establish beings who have attachment to the three realms in the bodhisattva perfection of prayer, the field of the ultimate conclusion of the paths of existence. I establish in the perfection of bodhisattva strength those beings who are overpowered by their objects of perception,¹⁵⁵⁷ are tormented by karma and kleśas, and have weak merit and wisdom. I establish in the perfection of bodhisattva knowledge those beings who are overwhelmed by the darkness of ignorance and enveloped in the darkness of believing in a self and possessions.

“Moreover, noble one, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation called the arising of the vast radiating light of joy.”

Sudhana asked, “Goddess, what is this bodhisattva liberation called the arising of the vast radiating light of joy like?”

She answered, “Noble one, this bodhisattva liberation has the radiance of the knowledge and methods of gathering beings through the merit of the tathāgatas. Why is that?

“Noble one, it is because all happiness that beings experience occurs through the power of the merit of the tathāgatas, through the path of instruction of the tathāgatas, through practicing the words of the tathāgatas, through following the example of the tathāgatas, through the blessing of the tathāgatas, through practicing the path taught by the tathāgatas,¹⁵⁵⁸ through creating roots of merit in the same way the tathāgatas have, through the power of the natural result of the Dharma that is taught by the tathāgatas, and through illumination from the sun of the wisdom of the tathāgatas.

“Noble one, the happiness of beings arises from the light of the disk of good qualities¹⁵⁵⁹ of the family of the tathāgatas. Why is that?

“Noble one, it is like this: I realized this bodhisattva liberation called the arising of the vast radiating light of joy when I remembered, comprehended, and understood the ocean of the past bodhisattva conduct of the Bhagavat Tathāgata Arhat Samyak­saṃbuddha Vairocana.

“When, in the past, the Bhagavat was on the bodhisattva bhūmis, he developed a motivation of great compassion on seeing beings with the belief in a self, with the belief in possessions, enveloped in the darkness of ignorance, wandering in the wilderness of thickets of wrong views, under the power of craving,¹⁵⁶⁰ imprisoned within the bondage of desire, having thoughts of hatred caused by anger, with their minds disturbed by ignorance, ensnared by jealousy and greed, with their minds disturbed by kleśas, experiencing great suffering in saṃsāra, afflicted by the suffering of poverty in saṃsāra, and having turned away from the sight of a buddha.

“He developed a motivation to benefit all beings through the accumulation and possession of precious requisites in the world, a motivation to produce necessary requisites for all beings, a motivation that was without attachment to anything, a motivation that had no yearning for anything in the entire field of perceptions, a motivation that had no clinging to any pleasure, a motivation that had no longing for any enjoyment, a motivation that had no wish for results ripening from generosity, a motivation that had no longing for any worldly prosperity, a motivation that was not¹⁵⁶¹ oblivious of causes and conditions, a motivation that had the understanding of the Dharma that was being sought, and a motivation that had attained dedication to the benefit of all beings.

“In that way, he had a mind that understood the nature of all phenomena, the realization of the impartiality of great love toward all realms of beings. He had the activity of spreading clouds of great compassion over all worlds of beings. He possessed a great round parasol of the Dharma that sheltered all worlds of beings. He possessed the thunderbolt weapon of great wisdom that destroys the mountains of obscurations of all beings. His mind had the increasing power of contentment through bringing happiness to all beings. His mind prayed that all beings would attain the ultimate happiness; he intended to send down a rain of wealth on all beings in accordance with their wishes and aspirations. His mind never abandoned beings but was focused on them all equally. He intended to satisfy all beings with the wealth of the āryas. He intended that they attain the supreme, stainless, precious knowledge of the ten strengths. He had attained the strength of the higher cognitions of a bodhisattva. He filled the entirety of the realms of beings and the vast realm of phenomena, as far as space extends, with great clouds of various miraculous bodhisattva manifestations. He manifested his presence before all beings and sent down a gift of great rain from a cloud of every form and every kind of object of perception. He sent down rain from a great cloud of every kind of precious jewelry.

“In that way, so that all beings could have enjoyment according to their own kind, he accomplished giving infinite, different kinds of things, practiced countless different kinds of assistance, engaged in accumulating all the many various kinds of gifts, practiced the conduct of giving away a numerous variety of things, produced an indescribable array of different kinds of requisites, and realized the way of infinite generosity that satisfies beings according to their aspirations with an accumulation of various gifts with various characteristics.

“Thus he gave, conferred, and bestowed all the things that would bring contentment to beings according to their aspirations. He engaged in saving all beings from continuous composite suffering. He had no wish for any being to repay his kindness. He possessed the realization of the equality of all beings, so that he purified the precious minds of all beings, and through the methods of gathering beings that have arisen from the roots of merit of all buddhas as a single ocean, he sent down a rain of requisites in accordance with the wishes of all beings, and he increased the power of the ocean of the merit of omniscience for all beings.

“He accomplished this in order to purify the successive ripening and guiding of all beings without exception in each instant of mind; in order in each instant of mind to cover and adorn the succession of all realms without exception with the pure adornments of the highest, undefiled buddha realms; in order in each instant of mind to pervade and purify the ocean of the ways of all phenomena without exception; in order in each instant of mind to complete the way of wisdom that pervades the entire extent of space without exception; in order in each instant of mind to purify the way of the wisdom that comprehends all beings and times without exception; in order in each instant of mind to attain the illumination of the way of the wisdom that guides all beings without exception; in order in each instant of mind to irreversibly¹⁵⁶² turn the wheel of the Dharma in all times without exception; and in order in each instant of mind to benefit all beings through revealing all skills, without exception, that are the blessing of omniscient wisdom.

“He performed bodhisattva conduct in each instant of mind in all the numbers of world realms without exception; in the arisen¹⁵⁶³ ocean of all world realms; in the congregation of the ocean of all world realms; in the vast extent of world realms of various descriptions; within the array of the boundaries of various differentiated families¹⁵⁶⁴ of world realms with boundaries; with descriptions of various bases and masses; in world realms with descriptions of various divisions into kalpas; in world realms that were defiled but also pure, pure but also defiled, entirely pure, and entirely defiled, that were immense, vast, measureless, narrow, minute, and huge, high, level, sideways, upside-down, facing the principal directions and the intermediate directions, and located in the ocean of various directions; and in an array of various shapes and entrances described in various ways.

“He entered a bodhisattva’s faultlessness in order to spread widely his bodhisattva conduct and miraculous manifestations, in order that in each instant of mind other beings would perceive in their minds and thoughts all the activity¹⁵⁶⁵ of the buddhas of the three times without exception, so that all beings would accomplish increasing the ocean of merit of omniscience. I know and I remember his accomplishment.¹⁵⁶⁶

“Noble one, in that way, when the Bhagavat Vairocana was previously practicing bodhisattva conduct, he had compassion for those dwelling in the world, who were devoid of the accumulations of merit and wisdom, who were filled with ingratitude toward other beings, who were enveloped by the darkness of ignorance, who were attached to belief in a self and belief in possessions, who were obscured by the darkness and blindness of ignorance, who had inappropriate thoughts, who were deep¹⁵⁶⁷ in the wilderness of thickets of wrong views, who were ignorant of cause and results, who were under the power of kleśas and karma, and who had fallen into the underground world of the great suffering of saṃsāra’s wilderness and were experiencing the various¹⁵⁶⁸ sufferings of poverty.

“Having compassion for them, he praised establishing strong roots of merit through a vast cloud of the practice of the perfections, dispelled saṃsāra’s suffering of poverty in all beings, inspired them toward a great accumulation of merit and wisdom, elucidated the aspect of the field of causes, explained the aspect of actions that are in accord with the Dharma, illuminated the aspect of understanding¹⁵⁶⁹ the domain of the Buddhadharma, elucidated the aspect of the aspirations of beings, taught the aspect of the creation of the realms of beings, followed the aspect of the uninterrupted family of all the buddhas, held the aspect of the teaching of all the buddhas, dispelled the aspect of all bad qualities, described the aspect of the accumulation of omniscience, and filled all the realms of beings with the great cloud of the perfections. Having accomplished that, he satisfied beings in accordance with their aspirations, establishing beings in the compilation of the Dharma; he inspired them toward the accumulation of omniscience; he brought them to the great perfections of a bodhisattva; he increased the ocean of the roots of merit of beings; he strengthened them through the attainment of the wealth of the āryas; and he increased the ocean of the roots of merit of beings through the power of their aspiration for omniscience.

“He brought them to enter the gateways to the miraculous manifestations of the tathāgatas, gathered them through possessing the bliss of the pacification of the skandhas, made them aspire to the greatness that is the nature of the tathāgatas, and established them in the wisdom possessed by the bodhisattvas.”

Sudhana asked, “Āryā, how long has it been since you entered upon the highest, complete enlightenment?”

She answered, “Noble one, this is a subject that is difficult to believe in,¹⁵⁷⁰ difficult to know, difficult to aspire to, difficult to comprehend, difficult to describe, and difficult to understand; the world and its devas and the śrāvakas and pratyeka­buddhas are unable to comprehend it. However, through the blessing of the tathāgatas, through being in the care of a kalyāṇamitra,¹⁵⁷¹ those beings who have no yearning for any bliss in saṃsāra, who are focused on the bliss of the tathāgatas, who are engaged in ending the suffering and unhappiness of all beings, who aspire to the knowledge¹⁵⁷² that comprehends the ocean of the qualities of the tathāgatas, who have realized the nature of all phenomena and have space as their field of activity, who are purified by the path of a vast aspiration, who have turned away from the course of saṃsāra, who aspire to the ocean of wisdom of all the tathāgatas, who are determined to go to the city of the Dharma,¹⁵⁷³ who have the diligence to attain the field of activity of the tathāgatas, who have the prowess to reach the level of the buddhas, who aspire to the perfection of the power of omniscience, and who have fully attained the ten strengths, with a mind supported by a vast accumulation of merit and wisdom, with a pure motivation, with a mind that is not disheartened, is not defiled, is not insincere, is unimpaired, has not narrowed, and is not in darkness, with a mind that is illuminated by the light of completely illuminating wisdom, with a mind intent on bringing happiness and benefit to all beings, with a mind that cannot be defeated by the kleśas and all Māra’s entourage, and with a mind that has the opportunity to attain omniscient wisdom, are able to understand, comprehend, believe in, grasp, follow, and know this subject.

“Why is that? Noble one, this subject is the field of the knowledge of the tathāgatas. All bodhisattvas, let alone all other beings, cannot reach it. Nevertheless, through the blessing of the tathāgatas, I teach it so that noble beings will have a perfectly pure motivation, so that beings with a conduct of roots of virtue will have a superior motivation, and so that you will obtain the arising of the true answer to your sincere¹⁵⁷⁴ question.”

Then, at that time, the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā, in order to teach this meaning further, looking into the field of knowledge of the tathāgatas of the three times, recited these verses:

“Noble one, in a time in the past even beyond as many kalpas as there are atoms in a world realm, there was an ocean of world realms called Maṇi­kanaka­parvata­śikhara­vairocana.

“Noble one, in that ocean of world realms called Maṇi­kanaka­parvata­śikhara­vairocana there was a tathāgata by the name of Jñāna­parvata­dharma­dhātu­dikpratapana­tejorāja. The Tathāgata Jñāna­parvata­dharma­dhātu­dikpratapana­tejorāja, through his previous bodhisattva conduct, had purified the ocean of world realms called Maṇi­kanaka­parvata­śikhara­vairocana.¹⁵⁷⁹

“In that ocean of world realms called Maṇi­kanaka­parvata­śikhara­vairocana appeared as many ranges of world realms as there are atoms in the earth and the mountains. In each range of world realms appeared as many groups of world realms as there are atoms in a multitude of world realms. In each world realm¹⁵⁸⁰ appeared as many kalpas as there are atoms in a world realm. In each kalpa appeared numerous intermediate kalpas. In each intermediate kalpa appeared numerous world realms with different appearances. In those appeared various occurrences of tathāgatas and their miraculous manifestations. During each appearance of a buddha appeared as many sūtras as there are atoms in a world realm. Within each sūtra appeared as many prophecies to bodhisattvas as there are atoms in a world realm. There appeared a vast extent of guided beings, without edge or center, accomplishment through the ways of various yānas, and guidance through various miraculous manifestations.

“Noble one, in that ocean of world realms called Maṇi­kanaka­parvata­śikhara­vairocana there was a central group of world realms called Samanta­digabhimukha­dvāra­dhvaja­vyūha.

“Noble one, in that central group of world realms called Samanta­digabhimukha­dvāra­dhvaja­vyūha there was the world realm called Sarva­ratna­varṇa­samanta­prabhāsa­śrī.

“It had a display of basis and borders of world realms. It had the shining bodhimaṇḍas of all the tathāgatas that were made of kings of jewels.¹⁵⁸¹ It resided upon an ocean of flowers of various jewels. Its main mass was made of kings of precious jewels in which appeared the images of the emanations of all the tathāgatas. It had the form of a city of devas. It was both pure and defiled.

“In that world realm there were as many four-continent world realms as there are atoms in Sumeru. The central four continents among those four continents that were as numerous as the atoms in Sumeru was called Sarva­ratna­śikhara­dhvaja. In that four-continent world called Sarva­ratna­śikhara­dhvaja, each of the four continents was a hundred thousand yojanas wide. In each of those continents there were a thousand great cities. In the center of the Jambudvīpa of that four-continent world there was a royal capital called Ratna­sāla­vyūha­megha­pradīpā, which was encircled by ten thousand cities.

“At that time, the people of that Jambudvīpa had a lifespan of ten thousand years. In the royal capital called Ratna­sāla­vyūha­megha­pradīpā there was a cakravartin king by the name of Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa. The cakravartin king Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa had five hundred ministers. He had sixty thousand queens. He had seven hundred sons who were all courageous and heroic, with perfectly formed bodies, handsome and magnificent, and very strong.

“During the time of King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa, he protected all of Jambudvīpa under one parasol and vanquished all enemies and opponents. During that time, in that world realm, as the intermediate kalpa was ending, the five degenerations appeared, the path of the ten good actions vanished, beings practiced the path of the ten bad actions, and most went to the lower realms. Their following the path of bad actions became the cause for lifespans to become short, pleasures to be few, and bodies to be ugly, have a bad color, and be misshapen. There was little happiness and the experience of many kinds of suffering. They deceived and betrayed one another. They caused divisions between one another. They engaged in harsh speech. They spoke incoherently. They were overcome by overpowering desires. They had the thoughts of angry minds. They wandered in a wilderness of various thickets of wrong views. They clung to desires that were contrary to the Dharma, and they were overcome by those overpowering desires. They were encompassed by false Dharma. Therefore, trees, plants, and harvests of food did not grow from the ground. The rain did not come on time. For those beings, the grass, herbs, shrubs, forests, orchards, and trees withered. They were afflicted by various illnesses. Throughout the main and intermediate directions they had no protector, and so they disrespected and were in contention with one another.

“They all gathered together and went to the royal capital Ratna­sāla­vyūha­megha­pradīpā. They surrounded it, some with their arms upraised, some with hands clasped together, some with their bodies trembling, some collapsing,¹⁵⁸² some falling with their heads on the ground, some with their bodies stretched out on the ground prostrate, some kneeling, some waving their arms in the air, some naked without clothes, some with an ugly expression of the face and eyes. They stared at King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa and cried out in a great piteous clamor, ‘Your Majesty! We are in distress! The suffering of hunger and thirst pains us! We are afflicted by various fears! We have no refuge! We have no protector or last resort! We are walled around by suffering! We are losing our lives! We are facing death!’

“In that way they wailed in various ways, crying out with various kinds of voices, with various words, various unpleasant facial expressions, various verbal expressions,¹⁵⁸³ terms of speech, and words from various dialects and in various accents..

“All the men and women, boys and girls of that royal capital, who were tormented by hunger and thirst, whose bodies were devoid of jewelry, who had no clothes and were naked, who were unsightly and discolored, whose skin was cracked and rough, and who were suffering and unhappy, were in distress, yearning for happiness, and afraid of suffering. Therefore, they sought protection from the great wise being King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa as a refuge, perceiving him to be someone through whom they could obtain happiness, perceiving him to be someone through whom they could become free of suffering,¹⁵⁸⁴ perceiving him to be someone through whom they could gain sustenance and obtain treasure, perceiving him to be like the sight of a ford, perceiving him to be a ship, perceiving him to be a great island of wisdom,¹⁵⁸⁵ perceiving him to be someone through whom they could attain a great benefit, and perceiving him to be someone through whom they could obtain all the joys and happiness of higher existences.

“When King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa heard the great clamor of the wailing of numerous piteous cries from all around him, he entered countless millions of gateways into great compassion. His mind resting in the mental state that is the way of great compassion, he contemplated one-pointedly for a moment and then spoke ten sentences of great compassion. What were those ten? They were:

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings have fallen into the abyss of saṃsāra and are without a support. When can I become a refuge for these beings, who have fallen into the great abyss of saṃsāra, and bring them to the level of the tathāgatas?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings are oppressed by the torment of the kleśas and have no refuge. When can I become a refuge for these beings, who are frightened by various kleśas, without a refuge, and oppressed by the torment of the kleśas, and establish them in irreproachable actions?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings are overcome by the fear of old age and death in this world and have no refuge. When can I become a refuge for these beings, who have no refuge, and dispel all their fear of saṃsāra?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings are tormented by the various fears in this world and have no recourse. When can I become a recourse for these beings, who are tormented by the various fears in the world, and establish them on the very happy and faultless path to omniscience?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings are enveloped in the darkness of ignorance in the world, and their sight is obscured by doubts and uncertainty. When can I become a lamp for these beings who have no refuge and dispel all the darkness of their ignorance?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see these beings who are deprived of light. When can I provide them with the light of great wisdom by revealing to them the undarkened gateway to wisdom?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see beings, deprived of the brilliant light of wisdom, who are polluted by envy and jealousy, deception and deceit. When can I establish all beings in perfect purity and illuminate them with the brilliant light of the highest wisdom?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see the world of beings, who are without guidance, without a guide. When can I bring all beings into the ways of the ocean of the Dharma and become their guide?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see the world of beings, within the current of the ocean of saṃsāra, who are without a guide. When can I ripen and guide all beings in every way, without missing the time for the blessing of the tathāgatas, and become their guide?

“ ‘Oh! Alas! I see the world of beings is blind and without a guide. When can I bring all beings into the way of unobscured omniscient wisdom and become their guide?’

“After he had spoken these ten sentences of great compassion, the great bell of the royal capital was rung, and the great drum of the great gift-giving was beaten. He declared, ‘I will give whatever anyone desires, and I will bring satisfaction to all beings.’

“In all the royal capitals throughout Jambudvīpa, and in all the villages, towns, market towns, districts, countries, and cities, all the stores of requisites were opened, and many different kinds of requisites were arranged at all crossroads, at the junctions of three roads, and in streets, and all beings were provided with the necessities of life.

“All treasure houses and treasuries were opened, and a great accumulation of a treasure of jewels was displayed. Many piles of various jewels were heaped up.

“Storehouses of food and drink, clothes, vehicles, flowers, garlands, incense and perfume, powders, jewelry, and precious clothes of various colors were opened.

“There were mansions, divine palaces, and houses, adorned by beds, seats, and clothing, with a perfection of all wealth and treasure, and a display of kings of jewels that dispelled darkness with their brilliant¹⁵⁸⁶ radiance.

“He emanated and displayed in each of those houses an emanation that resembled his body, so that he could fulfill all the wishes and desires of those beings.

“In order to heal all the illnesses of all beings, he arranged the perfect conditions of medicines, doctors, treatments, and the various requisites for sustaining life.

“He also set out containers of different shapes, made of various precious materials, that contained every kind of the variety of requisites: There were containers made of diamond jewels that were filled with various kinds of perfumed precious jewels. There were containers made of various perfumed precious jewels that were filled with clothes of various excellent colors. There were many chariots, set out throughout all the regions of the land, that were of various shapes and colors and adorned with various jewels, that had thoroughbred horses,¹⁵⁸⁷ oxen, and elephants¹⁵⁸⁸‍—various precious chariots that were worthy of a king, made enjoyable with all adornments and jewels, set with various kinds of cushions, adorned with various jewels, covered with various canopies, hung with strings of precious bells, and adorned with upright parasols, banners, and flags. He commanded that villages, towns, countrysides, and regions were to be given away.

“He gave away various orchards, parks, and forests for ascetics. He gave away all his homes, wives, sons, and daughters. He gave away all his priceless jewels. He gave away his own heart, marrow, intestines, kidneys, fat, flesh, blood, skin, arms, legs, nose, eyes, ears, tongue, teeth, lips, and head. He commanded that every kind of every outer and inner thing was to be given away. He had assembled and set out the many kinds of such gifts of requisites.

To the east of the royal capital Ratna­sāla­vyūha­megha­pradīpā, in front of the city called Maṇi­śikhara­tejas, there was a vast level area of immense breadth, without any rise or fall. It was pure and level ground free of ravines, crevasses, tree stumps, thorns, pebbles, and gravel. It consisted of a realm of all jewels. The ground was made from all jewels. All kings of jewels were strewn over it. It was adorned by many adornments of precious jewels. It was filled with various jewel flowers. Various extremely aromatic powders rose up from it as dust. There was a mist of perfumes and incense, and clouds of them formed an adornment that covered the entire sky. It was beautifully adorned by perfectly arranged lines of trees made of various precious materials. It was adorned by a variety of mansions, divine palaces, and kūṭāgāras. The cloth of precious parasols, banners, and flags fluttered. It was covered with a network of shining flowers of various jewels. It had a network of the circular shapes of parasols made of the kings of all precious incenses. It had jingling golden strings of precious bells. It was canopied over and beautified by various precious canopies. It was strewn with powders of the various kings of incenses. It was delightfully filled with the petals of jewels made of various jewels. It emitted the beautiful sound of a quintillion musical instruments being played and beaten. It was adorned by a pure variety of adornments made of all jewels. It had been created through the ripening karma of bodhisattvas.

“In its center there was a great lion throne situated on a multicolored ground made of ten precious materials. It was magnificent in the center of a pavilion made of ten precious materials. It had the beautiful display of a well-arranged balustrade made from the branches of trees made of the ten jewels. It was set upon the surface of a circular platform of indestructible diamond. It had a circular cushion with a form and color made of all precious materials. It was adorned by hundreds of crest adornments made of various precious materials. It was decorated by an array of inlays of different kinds made of many precious materials. Well-arranged precious banners had been erected all around it. It was hung¹⁵⁸⁹ with flags made of various precious materials. It was decorated with various kinds of decorations.¹⁵⁹⁰ It was adorned with nets of precious little bells.¹⁵⁹¹ It was decorated with various divine jewels on strings of gold. It was covered with all kinds of beautifying arrays of nets of flowers made of various jewels, nets of great kings of jewels, nets of precious cloth, and nets of jewels.¹⁵⁹² Handfuls of precious aromatic substances were scattered as clouds of perfume. Kings of jewels with inconceivable colors and aromas formed various beautiful shapes¹⁵⁹³ and emitted mists and clouds of all perfumes. It was perfumed by various present¹⁵⁹⁴ divine aromatic substances and incenses. The well-arranged seat of many excellent colors was pleasant to the touch, more so than those of the devas. There arose all around the sound of the music of many hundreds of thousands of divine musical instruments and beautiful melodious songs. It had the display of being adorned by a stairway of various precious materials covered with flags. It was beautified by various precious stones. It shone with various miraculous lights. It was decorated with various precious forms composed of precious stones. It shone with light produced by various manifestations.¹⁵⁹⁵

“Seated upon it was King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa. He was very handsome, with an excellent body, and delightful to look at. He possessed a completely excellent, beautiful color. He had attained the pure signs of a great being. He wore a crown that shone with jewels. His body was as solid and indestructible as a powerful thunderbolt. His well-aligned ribs were strongly connected. The larger and smaller parts of his body were perfectly formed, completely excellent, completely beautiful, and completely splendid. He had obtained every perfect physical feature. He had been born into a great family of Dharma kings. He had obtained power over all requisites. He had the completely pure power of the Dharma. He had power over his own mind. He had an unimpeded range of speech. He had unshakable knowledge. He had perfectly established, unmistaken practice of the Dharma. He revealed¹⁵⁹⁶ endless qualities and excellencies.

“King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa was seated upon the great lion throne and shaded, in the air directly above his head, by a great round parasol with a handle made of a blend of various precious materials and a treasure of excellent precious jewels in its center. It was adorned by a hundred thousand spokes¹⁵⁹⁷ of various jewels. It displayed shining, brilliant splendor, radiating the lights of many jewels. It was pure and bright, shining with Jambu River gold. It was adorned by an inner layer of lines of various jewels on a network of gold strings. It was hung with strings of various pearls. It was covered with a net of various jewels. It had a net of precious little bells and large precious golden bells strung along strings in clusters. It was adorned by being hung with strings of excellent, precious jewels. It emitted divine, beautiful sounds, and the sounds of the ringing bells inspired all beings to the path of good actions.

“King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa was being fanned with precious yak-tail fans. He was beautiful, shining with a majesty that surpassed that of Śakra, the lord of the devas.

“As soon as he was seated upon the lion throne, many beings stood before him with palms together in homage.

“The quintillion beings standing before King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa wished to obtain various necessities and various things. They came from various families, they were various kinds of beings, they had minds with various desires, they had various aspirations and wishes, they had gathered from various regions, they were accustomed to various ranges of enjoyments, they had minds that aspired for various kinds of enjoyment, they had various kinds of intentions and ideas, they were from various classes of humans, they had been born into various families, they had come from various lands, they spoke various languages and with various vocabularies, they gave rise to various fields of speech, they supplicated for various things, and they spoke in various words and voices.

“They all thought with certainty, ‘This great Sumeru of merit that we are looking at‍—he alone is a great man of wisdom.’

“In expectation they thought, ‘He is supported by great merit, he is a moon that is a great man, and he intends to perform a great act of generosity.’

“When he saw the great gathering of supplicants who had been gathered by a mind with the aspiration of a bodhisattva, who had been manifested by a mind with the aspiration of a bodhisattva, he felt in his mind affection, delight, and benevolence¹⁵⁹⁸ toward them. He perceived them to be his kalyāṇamitras. There arose in him a vast and powerful great compassion. He also developed the powerful diligence that would never turn back from satisfying all supplicants throughout future kalpas. There also arose all-pervading clouds of the aspiration to be equally engaged in generosity toward all beings.

“As soon as King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa saw those supplicants, it caused him to experience a joy greater than attaining the sovereignty of a cakravartin king of a billion-world universe for endless kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of the sovereignty of Śakra for many quintillions of kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of the sovereignty of the lord of devas, Suyāma, for many quintillions of kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of the sovereignty of the lord of devas, Saṃtuṣita, for many quintillions of kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of the sovereignty of the lord of devas, Sunirmita, for endless kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of the sovereignty of the lord of devas, Vaśavartin, and being honored by beautiful, delightful apsarases for countless kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the throne of Brahmā and enjoying the bliss of dwelling in the Brahmā paradise for endless kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the bliss of the Ābhāsvara devas for endless kalpas; a joy greater than attaining the bliss of the Śubhakṛtsna devas for an unceasing, unequaled number of kalpas; and a joy greater than attaining the bliss of peaceful liberation of the Śuddhāvāsa devas for kalpas without end.

“Noble one, it was like a solitary¹⁵⁹⁹ man, filled with longing, who has been separated for a long time from his father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends, relatives,¹⁶⁰⁰ sons, daughters, and wife and is wandering in a wilderness. He longs and longs to see them, and when he meets them he never has enough of looking at them, and a great joy and affection arises within him.

“Noble one, in the same way, the instant King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa saw those supplicants, a great powerful joy arose in him. His mind was overpowered¹⁶⁰¹ by bliss and happiness. He experienced an intensely powerful delight. The power of a great joy arose in him. The great strength of the power of faith in and aspiration for the enlightenment of buddhahood increased. The heartfelt faith in omniscience increased. The strength of his pure, superior aspiration for the Dharma of all the buddhas increased. He became capable of attaining the powers of a bodhisattva. There arose the great power of aspiration through his mind being pervaded with joy. Through the vast power of his rapture, he became deeply reverential in faculties and thoughts toward kalyāṇamitras.¹⁶⁰²

“Why was that? Because King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa was engaged in undertaking attaining omniscience; he had set out for omniscience; he was turned toward the gateway to omniscience; he was engaged in focusing on bringing satisfaction to all beings; he was intent on practicing entry into the ocean of the qualities of all the buddhas; he was dedicated to destroying the mountain of all the obscurations from māras, karma, and kleśas;¹⁶⁰³ he was prepared to respectfully obtain the teachings of all the tathāgatas; from his heart he was dedicated to accumulating completely and totally an ocean of the roots of merit; the continuum of his mind had transcended all attachment; he had no attachment to any sensory object in the world; his field of activity was space, which is the nature of phenomena; he perceived them to be worthy of offerings; he perceived them to be kalyāṇamitras; he perceived them to be rare; he perceived them to be those who do what is difficult; he perceived them to be those who do much; he perceived them to be of the highest benefit; he perceived them to be teachers of the path to enlightenment; he perceived them to be ācāryas; and he perceived them to be teachers.

“In that way, wherever they came from,¹⁶⁰⁴ for whatever reason,¹⁶⁰⁵ whenever they had assembled, however long they had been present, whatever the things they were asking for, whatever their longings, whatever they wished for, whatever they yearned for, whatever they desired, whatever the things they sought, he satisfied those supplicants through the gateway of generosity that was without any disapproval, that had a great range of love, that was not dependent on what the supplicants would do with what they received, that had the light rays of great generosity, and that was united with the equality of all beings.

“He gave food to those who wanted food. He gave drink to those who wanted drink. He gave clothes to those who wanted clothes. He gave flowers to those who wanted flowers. In the same way, he gave perfumes, garlands, ointments, powders, robes,¹⁶⁰⁶ parasols, banners, flags, precious materials, jewelry, seats, beds, houses, divine palaces, temples, orchards, parks, forests for ascetics, cavalry, elephants, chariots, infantry, carriages, palanquins, steeds, gold, treasures, jewels, pearls, conches, crystals, corals, gold nuggets, and silver.

“He opened, shared, and gave away all his own dwellings, divine palaces, harem, court, and royal treasures. He said, ‘Take whatever you want!’ If they wanted a land, he gave them a land; if they wanted a city, he gave them a city; if they wanted a town, he gave them a town. Treating all beings equally, he gave away everything he owned to those supplicants, and in giving away everything presented¹⁶⁰⁷ it to them. [B11]

“At that time, there was a head merchant’s daughter by the name of Ratnaprabhā, who had an entourage of sixty girls and had arrived at the site of the great offering. She was beautiful, attractive, and pretty; she had the most perfectly formed, magnificent color; she was the color of gold; her hair was deep black; her eyes were a contrasting deep black and white; she had a pleasant, beautiful aroma; she had the voice of Brahmā; she wore excellent clothing; she was perfectly adorned in jewelry; she had mindfulness and intelligence; she had joy and a sense of shame; she had perfect conduct and costume; she had respect for the gurus; she acted with perfect mindfulness; she had profound activities; she had received, retained, and comprehended the Dharma; she was honest; she had created excellent roots of merit in the past; the continuum of her mind was clear, as it had been moistened by the Dharma; she had pure, virtuous thoughts; she had a vast aspiration; she had space as her field of activity; she had a mind that rejoiced in benefiting others; she was turned toward the direction of seeing the buddhas; and she aspired to omniscience.

“Ratnaprabhā, the head merchant’s daughter, was standing with palms together in homage, not far away, on the right-hand side of the lion throne of King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa. She bowed down to the king but did not take anything from him. Then she went to one side and thought, ‘That I have been able to see and to be with this kind of kalyāṇamitra is an excellent attainment.’

“She perceived King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa to be a kalyāṇamitra, perceived him to be a teacher, perceived him to be compassionate, perceived him to be someone who benefits others, and perceived him to be a buddha.

“She attained the power of joy, aspiration, and enthusiasm, and with a mind that was free of dissimulation, she removed her jewelry and, gazing at King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa, threw it toward him, scattering it on the platform at the foot of the lion throne. When she had in that way scattered her jewelry, she made this prayer: ‘May I in the future become the same as King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa, who is a refuge for beings who have no protector and are enveloped in darkness. May I know whatever Dharma he knows. May I set forth through whatever yāna he has set forth. May I follow whatever path he has followed; may I become just like him whose body gives unending pleasure when gazed upon, who has a limitless entourage and is undefeatable, invincible, and unconquerable. Wherever he is born, may I also be reborn there.’

“King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa knew what her mind was focused on and engaged with, and he said to her, ‘Girl, take whatever you need! Girl, I am giving away all my possessions. I am engaged in satisfying all beings.’

“She thought, ‘King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa has understood me,’ and gained an even greater faith in him. With that faith in him, giving rise to the power of immense, vast roots of merit, she recited these verses to King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa:

“The head merchant’s daughter, Ratnaprabhā, praised King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa with those verses. Having honored and praised him, she circumambulated him, keeping him to her right, a hundred thousand times. Having paid homage, she reverently went to sit to one side.

“King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa looked at the merchant’s daughter Ratnaprabhā and said these words: ‘Girl, it is excellent, excellent, that you have thus set out for the higher knowledge that knows the special qualities of other beings.

“ ‘Girl, beings who aspire for the good qualities in other beings are rare in all worlds.

“ ‘Girl, beings who are obscured by darkness, who are ungrateful, who have wrong judgment, who have disturbed minds, whose trains of thought are in disorder, whose minds are in darkness, whose thoughts are naturally ruinous, who do not practice, and who do not know the special qualities of other beings are unable to comprehend the qualities of bodhisattvas, to conceive the qualities of the tathāgatas, or to attain the higher cognition that is the unique knowledge of all qualities.

“ ‘Therefore, girl, as you comprehend the qualities of the bodhisattvas through a higher cognition of great beings, you are, without doubt, established in the way to enlightenment.

“ ‘My prowess in gathering together the beings of Jambudvīpa has proved meaningful because someone like you, with your kind of knowledge, has been born in my realm.’

“Then King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa picked up with his own hands a great, priceless, precious jewel, a multicolored precious jewel that contained the lights of the stars, and priceless, precious clothing, and gave them to the head merchant’s daughter Ratnaprabhā. He gave various precious clothing to each of the girls in Ratnaprabhā’s entourage. He said, ‘Girl, take this precious clothing, keep it, and wear it yourself!’

“Then the head merchant’s daughter, Ratnaprabhā, accompanied by her entourage, knelt with both knees on the ground, took up the precious clothing with both hands, placed it on her head, withdrew, and put on that precious clothing. All the girls in the entourage also each put on their own precious clothing. When she had put on that precious clothing, accompanied by her entourage of girls, she circumambulated King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa, keeping him to her right. The images of all constellations and stars appeared on those precious clothes. When the gathering of people saw her, they said, ‘Girl, your entourage of girls is as beautiful as a night goddess adorned by the stars. You, encircled by them, are even more beautiful.’ ”

Then the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā said to Sudhana, “Noble one, what do you think? At that time, in that time, who was King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa? Do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, it was this bhagavat tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddha Vairocana who was King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa.

“What do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who was Padmaprabhā, the queen of King Jyotiṣprabha and the mother of King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa? Do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, Māyādevī was Padmaprabhā, the king’s queen who took the miraculously born prince onto her lap.¹⁶²²

“Also, what do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who was Jyotiṣprabha, the father of King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa? Do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, Śuddhodana was the king named Jyotiṣprabha.

“Also, what do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who was Ratnaprabhā, the head merchant’s daughter? Do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, I was Ratnaprabhā, the head merchant’s daughter.

“Also, what do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who were the beings who had been born in Jambudvīpa and whom King Sarva­dharma­nirnādacchatra­maṇḍala­nirghoṣa had gathered together through the four methods of gathering pupils? Do not think that it was anyone else, for they are those who are gathered in this assembly of the followers of the Bhagavat, have been established on the bodhisattva path, and are progressing irreversibly toward the highest, complete enlightenment. Some are established on the first bhūmi, some on the second bhūmi, some on the third bhūmi, some on the fourth bhūmi, some on the fifth bhūmi, some on the sixth bhūmi, some on the seventh bhūmi, some on the eighth bhūmi, some on the ninth bhūmi, and some are established on the tenth bodhisattva bhūmi.

“They are bodhisattvas who have their attainments through various kinds of prayers, various ways of setting out toward omniscience, various accumulations, various accomplishments,¹⁶²³ various conducts,¹⁶²⁴ various setting forths, various pure displays of the path, various supremacies in miraculous manifestations, and different kinds of displays of the path.

“They are these practitioners who are dwelling and practicing within various divine palaces of the Dharma in this assembly of followers through their practice of various kinds of liberations.”

The night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā, in order to teach further the bodhisattva liberation called the arising of the vast radiating light of joy, recited these verses to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son:

“Noble one, I know only this bodhisattva liberation called the arising of the vast radiating light of joy. How could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of bodhisattvas who at the feet of all the tathāgatas engage in an ocean of prayers to enter omniscience; who complete the fulfillment of the ocean of the past prayers by the tathāgatas; who are skilled in reaching the ocean of all bodhisattva bhūmis through reaching one bodhisattva bhūmi; who have pure prayer and conduct in which there is an ocean of all bodhisattva conducts included within each conduct; who have the power of practice of the entire ocean of bodhisattva liberations being included within each bodhisattva liberation?

“Depart, noble one. The goddess of the night who has the name Sarva­jagad­rakṣā­praṇidhāna­vīrya­prabhā has come to this bodhimaṇḍa and is in the presence of the Bhagavat. Go to her and ask her, ‘How should a bodhisattva ripen beings for the highest, complete enlightenment? How should a bodhisattva purify all buddha realms? How should a bodhisattva honor and serve all tathāgatas so as to please them? How should a bodhisattva be dedicated to the Dharma¹⁶²⁷ of all the buddhas?’ ”

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā, circumambulated the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping her to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the night goddess Sarva­vṛkṣpraphullana­sukha­saṃvāsā.